Breaking the Cycle
by Mephistophilisthemartyr
Summary: Ai has just dragged her latest victim off to hell, a mother whose son died from her neglect. When the woman is lost in the all encompassing aura of despair, she receives help from the most unlikely source.
1. Chapter one: Charges

Hello, and sorry that I have not uploaded another chapter of midnight carnival recently. I have trouble coming up with Ideas for that one, so in the meantime I have given created a crossover for Hell Girl and Defense Devil.

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to either Hell Girl or Defense Devil. All credit goes to Studio Deen and Youn In-Wan/Yang Kyung-Il respectively. Without further ado, I'd like to commence with…

**Breaking the Cycle**

It was terrible to think about. It just was not the kind of thing you see every day. Sure it was talked about on the news all the time, but it was unbelievable to think that it could happen to you. Yet there it was the undeniable evidence.

These were the thoughts that raced through Shiozawa Takeshi's head. He just could not accept the simple truth, as he saw it anyway. It was a cold evening in the autumn. He had just returned home from work, and was getting ready to go to bed. He walked into the kitchen to take his evening medication when he saw something on the floor. It was the kind of cliché that seemed to come right out of a horror movie. He stared at it for a few moments, and then he screamed. On the floor was the body of his son with a blank expression on his face.

The doctors could not do anything; it was already too late to save the boy. They knew what had killed him, or at least had an idea anyway. The boy was diagnosed with asthma at age five. For the most part he was fine, but every so often he would have an attack. It must have happened when both of the parents were not home. Takeshi worked as at a talent agency for voice actors, and his wife Ayame was a teacher for grade school children. They were both very happy with their lives, but Ayame and their son, Setsuna, were never very close. Not to say that they hated each other, but there was not much interaction between the two. Setsuna really preferred his father's company over that of his mother. At least he did, but now he was dead.

According to the analysis, the boy died three hours before Takeshi came home from work. Naturally Ayame would have been home at that time. However, the house was completely empty, and Takeshi thought they were both in bed at the time. He did not know what to think when he saw his dead son. Not only was she not home, she would not even answer his phone calls. What was going on, did she decide to spend the night in town with some friends? What was it that happened?

Takeshi felt confusion, and anger swirling around in his head. He began to feel that she had left him in negligence. As he went home, there she was sitting at the table.

"Hello my dear," she said with her cute superficial smile. "Where is Setsuna?" she asked in a voice that made her look like she cared. "He's dead," said Takeshi. "What?!" she gasped in horror. "He died of an asthma attack," he explained. "Oh no!" she tried to hide her terror.

Takeshi did not really want to talk to her right now. He ended the conversation as soon as he could, and told her he would be sleeping on the couch tonight. He could not bear to face her right now. It just did not seem right, she should have been home. She only just realized that he was dead? What kind of mother is that distant? Sure they weren't that close, but she could of at least cared about him more.

He eventually remembered a rumor he heard at work about something called, "The Hell Correspondence Website." If you log onto it at night and type in the name of one you want vengeance on at the stroke of midnight, than that person would be dragged off to hell forever. It seemed kind of sick, but it was worth checking out. He pulled out his laptop, and logged onto the internet. It was only a minute away to midnight. He typed in the URL for the website. There was just a black screen with, "Hell Correspondence," written on the top with white characters. In the center was a box for typing in names, and a button with, "submit," just underneath it.

He looked at the clock, and it read twelve o'clock exactly. He typed in Ayame's name into the box. He held his breath for a moment, but he finally clicked submit. There was an hourglass, and then the room turned black as all the lights turned off.

"I have received your request," a soft voice said behind him.

He looked behind his back. He almost screamed, because behind him was a young girl with long raven black hair. She was dressed in a school uniform, and had pale skin and an expression on her face filled with apathy. The most disturbing characteristic about her was her eyes; for they were blood red! Takeshi almost fainted.

"Who are you?" he asked. "I am Ai," she said, "And I will carry out your vengeance." She held out a doll made of straw that was as red as her eyes with a scarlet thread tied around its neck, "If you truly seek vengeance then simply pull the scarlet thread from the doll." As he was about to remove the string she interrupted, "But once vengeance is served you must deliver your end of the bargain." "What do you mean?" he asked. Ai looked at him and said, "Once your tormentor has been cast into hell then your soul will also be destined to go to hell when you die; thus you will never know the joys of heaven."

With that, she disappeared and the lights came back on. Takeshi thought for a moment, and looked at the doll. Did he really wish for his wife to be sent to hell? Was it all a dream, no it was too real for that. But what about the fact that he would be sent to hell as well when he died? Was that really worth it? Then he remembered his son, and how because of her he would never see Setsuna again. His heart filled with anger, he pulled the string.

A dark voice echoed in his ear, "Your grievance shall be avenged."

Ayame was in bed reflecting on the death of her son. How was this going to affect their marriage? Why did he have to die? She did not really have a chance to explain things to her husband. She hoped that at breakfast he would be in more of a mood to talk. She was sad about this mess too. She loved her son, and wanted to become the kind of mother he would tell their grandchildren about. As she walked to the kitchen there was a note on the counter.

"I have gone down town today Ayame. I need some time alone; so I will be staying in a motel for now." That is what it read. She was horrified, she needed to find him and explain. With that, she got dressed and ran out to find him.

It was strange, but she felt like she was being led by the nose. Not that it mattered, for when she reached the motel district she ran into the first motel she could find. She asked the man at the check in counter if Shiozawa Takeshi was staying there.

Without looking into the records he told her, "Of course; he is on the second floor in room two hundred twelve." "Are you going to call him down for me?" she asked desperately. "No, in fact he wanted you to see him," he replied, "He told me to give you this key."

Without a second thought she took the key and ran to the room. She looked for the room on the second floor and found it easily. But nothing on earth could have prepared her for what she was about to see.

As she opened the door she saw something she thought she would never see. In the bed were her husband, and another woman! She looked at them with horror and anger. What was going on with him? Was he having an affair, or was he doing this to humiliate her for some reason?

"My beloved who is this?" said the woman. "Just some random slut I think," replied Takeshi, "Don't worry the security will get rid of her." "How rude is it to break into another couple's motel room?" she asked.

No sooner had the woman said this then Ayame felt somebody grab her. She looked around her to see a demonic figure dressed in a black cloak grab her. She let out a loud scream for help, but nobody cared. The figure dragged her down a dark hallway where others appeared from the shadows and held her down on the ground. All at once a girl with raven black hair, dressed in a kimono, and blood red eyes stood next to her.

"Pitiful shadow wallowing in the depths of your own sin knowing only pain and agony," she chanted, "Perhaps it is time to die."

As this was said Ayame noticed the scenery fade away and she was on a boat. The girl with the blood red eyes and the woman in bed with her husband were behind her. The woman was wearing a loose fitting blue kimono and had her hair tied up in the style of a geisha. The girl was holding a lever that was steering the boat, and several lanterns were floating on the surface.

"Where am I?" asked Ayame. "This is vengeance and I am to ferry you to hell," said the girl with the blood red eyes.

Ayame face was filled with confusion. Was this all just a crazy dream, or was it…


	2. Chapter two: opening arguments

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hell Girl or Defense Devil. All rights go to Studio Deen, and Youn In-Wan/Yang Kyung Il respectively. Had a little screw up and had to rewrite the whole second chapter, but here it is.**

It was just another day on the event horizon. The realm between hell and earth is very quiet. It is a vast barren wasteland in which there is a boundless nothingness that stretches on forever. Amidst this gloomy atmosphere, a loud voice shattered the silence… again.

"What the heck are you doing master?!" shouted a voice coming from a crevice. "I'm just about to finish my castle of cards," said a second voice, "They give a large sum of money to those who break these records you know." "We don't need human money!" shouted the first voice.

Inside, a small goblin like creature and a man in black were fighting. The man had spiky black hair and held a copy of, The Guinness Book of World Records. The goblin did not like when his master started to slack off. Especially when it was so he could spend time doing things that the humans do.

"You know Bichula we have to pass the time somehow," said the man to the goblin. "Then maybe you can spend your time helping me with work!" shouted Bichula. "I can't do that what if a soul is wrongfully sent to…" the man started to say.

A bell started to ring, and the man and Bichula both knew that this meant it was time for work. The man set the book down, and grabbed a document and pen. Once he had collected all his equipment, both he and Bichula disappeared.

Once they rematerialized they were shocked. They did not think that the place they would end up was on a boat. They quickly noticed that there were three people in the boat with them. A young Japanese woman dressed in a sweater and some jeans lay beside him, but the other two were somewhat strange. There was a young girl steering the boat, and another who looked like a geisha.

"Excuse me but which one of you just recently died?" asked the man. "Who are you to ask?!" shouted the geisha in surprise, "More importantly, where did you come from?!" "Master I don't think we should be here," whispered Bichula. "Really, why is that?" the man asked. "This is vengeance, and you must not interfere with our matters," the girl steering the boat said softly. "Oh really, well just watch me!" the man shouted in excitement.

With that, he grabbed the woman beside him and with Bichula they disappeared. They returned to the human world, but something was odd. Nobody saw them suddenly appear from thin air. Nobody knew they were standing on the sidewalk. In fact, when people walked by, some of them walked through them like they were made of air.

"Don't worry we're ethereal," the man said, "That means we are essentially ghosts like you." "I'm dead but how?!" the woman said to the man. "I don't know, but I'm a lawyer who has come to defend you," he said, "My name is kind of long so just call me Kuckabara; now if you'll just sign this contract we can begin the search." "Search for what?" the woman asked. "For an innocence item, it's what we need to prove you innocent," Kuckabara answered.

With that the woman started to cry. She remembered it all. How she learned her son died, how she caught her husband with another woman, how the dark figures held her down, and the girl who appeared and dragged her off to hell with the woman she saw with her husband. It all played out like a bad dream. A dream she wanted to end soon. That was when Kuckabara grabbed her hands.

"Don't worry, because I won't give up until I prove you innocent," he said with a look of sheer honesty. The woman wiped her tears and said, "Okay, my name is Ayame."

Kuckabara gave her the document and a pen. Then Ayame signed her name and put all the information he needed. When she was finished, she handed it back to Kuckabara. He looked it over.

"So what is an Innocence Item?" she asked. "Anything that can prove you innocent," he said, "It can be a person, a document, a recording, anything that says you are not guilty of the crime you are charged with." "But I don't even know what it is I'm charged with doing," she said with a look of sorrow. Kuckabara looked at her and said, "Huh? Well than this is going to be a tricky case."

Meanwhile a flaming cart was flying in the sky towards the city. It had a face on its side, and the girl with blood red eyes, the geisha, and a young man were riding it. The man looked over at the geisha.

"Well, it looks like you didn't do your job right huh Hone Onna," he said. "Shut up Ren I already told you something weird happened this time around, a man and a goblin took our target and ran back to this world," said the one called Hone Onna. "Yeah I bet, maybe it was a secret admirer of yours trying to get attention right Wanyudo?" the man named Ren asked with a sneer on his face. "Quick joking around Ren this is serious!" snapped the face on the wheel of the cart. "Oh come on you have to admit its kinda funny," laughed Ren. "There is nothing funny about this matter, if we fail then we will be punished for it," said the girl with blood red eyes softly. "Forgive me lady Ai," Ren said without trying to laugh.

Ayame managed to lead Kuckabara to her home. They ran all the way to her bedroom. Kuckabara took out a bottle of what looked like spray paint and sprayed the room. After a few seconds a handful of things were painted black.

"This is only temporary and only spiritual entities like us can see it any way," said Bichula. "What is it?" asked Ayame. "It's a spray that lets us find things related to the case since that is the only thing the pain sticks to," answered Kuckabara. "It seems that we have a laptop, a piece of string, and a cell phone. Well that's weird," said Bichula. "I know, none of these seem relevant even to each other," Kuckabara said, "Let's take a look at the laptop."

They opened it up to find that it was still on and logged into the internet. Yet the page it was on was the page that appears when the computer cannot find the server to the website for some reason. Kuckabara shrugged and looked at Bichula.

"She must have done something on the computer," said Bichula. "Oh no! That is my husband's computer," said Ayame. "What?!" shouted Bichula and Kuckabara in unison. "Do you have any other family members we should know about?" asked Bichula. She barely managed to say, "I…I had a son named Setsuna…who… died recently." "Wait a minute, could you be accused of killing your son?" asked Kuckabara. "That's impossible, he had an asthma attack. My husband told me!" She began to cry.

Her weeping was filled with confusion and sorrow for the family she knew she would never see again.

Kuckabara looked at her and said softly, "Ayame, I don't want you to think I believe you are guilty because I will find a way to prove you're innocent even if I have to go to hell and back to do it." "Master will you please stop making cliché speeches?" asked Bichula in disgust. "Hey it's the truth ain't it?!" shouted Kuckabara.

Meanwhile four people were walking up to the household that once belonged to the Shiozawa family. Ai, Ren, Hone Onna, and an old man that they called Wanyudo stood at the front door. Ren and Hone Onna walked in.

"Yoo hoo! Mister Hero come out come out wherever you are!" said Ren in a mocking voice. "Don't give us away!" Hone Onna tried to say.

Meanwhile in the bed room Kuckabara and Bichula knew they had visitors; the kind you don't want to have. Kuckabara told Bichula to take Ayame and get her to safety, and he would hold them off. Kuckabara ran to the front door to confront Ren and Hone Onna.

"Well well well, look what we have here," laughed Ren. "Where the hell do you get off taking this woman to hell what did she do wrong?!" shouted Kuckabara. "It's nothing personal it's just our job to bestow vengeance upon those who torment our clients," Ren laughed, "But in all seriousness where do you get off trying to stop us?! We will get in trouble if we don't get her soul back pronto!" "Then you'll have to go through me!" growled Kuckabara. "With pleasure."


	3. Chapter three: finding the proof

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hell Girl or Defense Devil. All rights go to Studio Deen, and Youn In-Wan/Yang Kyung Il respectively. Man I am on a roll today. Don't worry I'll get back to Midnight Carnival as soon as I can, and this work shouldn't be too much longer.**

As Kuckabara and Ren fought they were both forced to fight in the streets. Kuckabara was taking a heavy beating and Ren was showing no signs of letting up. The defense attorney was already starting to bleed from Ren's attacks, but he just kept getting back up for more.

"Jesus, when you said go through you, you really meant it didn't you?" said Ren half seriously. "He is so persistent that I could very well end up falling for him," said Hone Onna in a seductive voice. As soon as Kuckabara said this his face lit up with anger, "No! None of that, I have more temptresses in my life than I ever asked for!" he shouted, "And one is too many!" "Oh how sad, you broke my heart," said Hone Onna in mockingly tone similar to Ren's. "Well we'll just have to teach him a lesson!" laughed Ren.

On a nearby rooftop Ai and Wanyudo watched. Wanyudo looked at Ai and shrugged. He took another look at Kuckabara and gasped. Ai immediately glanced at the old man.

"Is something wrong Wanyudo?" she asked. "I think I recognize that guy!" gasped Wanyudo. "Who is he?" asked the girl whose blood red eyes contained a hint of curiosity. "He looks like the former prince of hell," Wanyudo replied, "He went into exile recently." "Why is he here helping our target?" asked Ai. "He went into exile because he was a demon who did not act as one," Wanyudo replied, "I really don't know all the details young mistress but that is definitely him; I'm sure of it." "Interesting," whispered Ai.

"So what is it that this woman did to deserve vengeance?" shouted Kuckabara as blood dripped down his face. "Well seeing as it doesn't matter; her husband thought that she neglected their son and he died while she was supposed to be home," explained Ren as he punch Kuckabara in the stomach again, "So he logged onto the Hell Correspondence website and contacted our young mistress Ai asking for her to drag that woman off to hell for him." "Of course when he dies he will be dragged off to hell too," Hone Onna added as she stomped on Kuckabara's face.

I get it, thought Kuckabara. So then these guys must be the messengers to some demon that is running a sick business of selling vengeance for souls to feed his desire for subjects to torment. Kuckabara pushed himself off the ground and stood up. He knew he was headed in the right direction now.

"Well then let me tell you about myself as a thank you for helping me!" he shouted. "What the hell are you spouting off now?!" shouted Ren. "I'm a demon who acts as a lawyer to souls that are bound for hell," Kuckabara said, "And I search for proof of their innocence so that I can save them from damnation." "Are you serious?! You're one of those guys?!" Ren screamed in horror. "Well it seems you just helped our enemy find a way to keep us from getting our pray," said Hone Onna in frustration, "If he gets the proof he needs you are the one taking the wrap for it." Kuckabara pulled out a pen and shouted, "The pen is mightier than the sword."

With that he pressed the switch and the pen emitted a blade of light. He knocked back Ren and sprinted to the north where he told Bichula to wait for him. He hoped that he had given them enough time to find the one thing that would prove Ayame Innocent.

Meanwhile Bichula and Ayame had gone to the hospital. They had hoped they could find something in the room that Setsuna was in. As they made their way towards it there was something odd. In the room was not only the dead body of Setsuna and Ayame's husband Takeshi, but there was also a phantom figure in the corner. It looked like the ghost of Setsuna! Ayame ran towards the ghost and embraced him.

"Setsuna!" she cried, "I'm sorry that I was not home when you died!" "Mommy what is happening?" asked Setsuna. "No not right now! There is no need for words!" the mother said holding her son tighter. "Excuse me but we don't have time for this!!" shouted Bichula, "In case you forgot, the messengers of hell could be here any minute to take you away!" "Mommy why is there a goblin in the room?" asked Setsuna. "I'm not a goblin, I'm a dragon for Pete's sake!" shouted Bichula.

It was at that moment that Kuckabara ran into the room. He was all beat up and out of breath, and blood was dripping down the sides of his face. He looked like he could barely stand up. He looked over at Bichula.

"Huuuh Huuuuh… I made it Bichula…" he said gasping for air. "About time! Maybe you can convince these two to stop having a mother son moment and help us find an innocent item already!" shouted the self proclaimed dragon. "Mother son moment?" asked Kuckabara as he looked at Ayame.

He realized that she was holding the ghostly essence of her son. His face lit up with hope. So he ran over to Setsuna while at the same time trying not to frighten him.

"Excuse me but what happened the last time you were at home?" he asked. "Don't ask him to relive his death!" shouted Ayame. "I have to because his testimony could be the thing we need to prove you innocent," replied Kuckabara, "It could be what we need to bring the both of you back to life." "What?" she asked. "I'm dead?" asked Setsuna. "For the moment, but I'm trying to fix that," said Kuckabara. "Well let me think," mumbled Setsuna. "This is hopeless master why don't we just hand them over and save our skins?" asked Bichula.

Kuckabara walked over and hit Bichula as hard as he could on the head! Then he picked his servant up and slammed him into the wall!

"Don't you Ever, suggest such a thing again Bichula! Ever!" shouted Kuckabara as he threw him on the ground. He walked over to Setsuna and said, "Don't worry I promised your mother and now I'm promising you that I will not abandon you guys."

Setsuna saw the courage that burnt in the eyes of the man making this promise. He couldn't help himself but be filled with hope. He found himself telling him of the night he had died. It was hard, but he did it. He went on to explain that when he got home he realized that he had left his inhaler at school. The only reason he brought it was because of gym class. He called his mother if she could pick it up for him on her way home. They went through the usual routine when a child asks his mother to pick something up he forgot because he was careless. Despite this, she had told him she would leave early just so she could get it to him.

Shortly after he hung up, he told them that he had an attack! That was when he died. Ayame suddenly remembered, and began to explain that her phone had died when she got to Setsuna's school. She also had arrived at the subway when a major wreck had accrued, so she had to wait for hours to get a train home. By the time she arrived nobody was there, but was excited when her husband had returned, because she could ask where Setsuna had gone. It all made sense to them now, especially to Kuckabara.

"Finally we have the proof we need!" said Kuckabara.

It was at that point that Ren, Hone Onna, Wanyudo, and Ai walked into the room. Kuckabara turned around and faced them. They had come at the worst possible time. If only they had a little more time.

"Well it's about time we take that woman and finish this," Ren sneered. "I don't think so! I have the proof I need to prove her Innocent!" shouted Kuckabara.

With that he held Setsuna and Ayame's hands and a white light shined on the contract Ayame had signed earlier. A strange text appeared on the front page that read, "Innocence Item Accepted." With that, a dark fog began to emanate off of Ayame and Takeshi. The cloud began to lift and gathered in the center of the ceiling. As soon as that happened, the cloud covered Kuckabara.

In the center of the cloud that had enveloped Kuckabara; a deep demonic voice said, "On behalf of my client; I shall commence with the closing arguments!"


	4. Chapter four: the closing arguments

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hell Girl or Defense Devil. All credit goes to Studio Deen and Youn In-Wan/Yang Kyung Il respectively. Well here it is everybody, the final chapter of, ****Breaking the Cycle****. I am so excited I can't stand myself. **

It was unbelievable, and there was nothing that anyone in the room except for Bichula could say! The fog slowly faded away, and standing where Kuckabara once stood was an ominous figure. His appearance was similar to Kuckabara, but his hair was longer; and it was white. His clothing was much more regal in appearance, as well as being designed more for combat. His body had much more muscle to it, and his hands were almost like claws. His face had a look of considerable pride, and a hint of hatred. The fact that the meek little attorney could become such a fierce a figure as this was not possible, and yet; there it was!

"On behalf of my client," said Kuckabara calmly, "I shall begin the closing arguments!" "This has got to be a joke!" screamed Ren in disbelief. "Yes; how did you suddenly become this incredibly powerful demon?!" asked Hone Onna. "This is master's true form people," explained Bichula with composure, "He had this power once before; but lost it." "Was this the reason he went into exile?" asked Wanyudo. "No," answered Bichula, "This happened, Because he was exiled."

Ren and Hone Onna froze in place. They had never encountered something with such great power before! Ai on the other hand remained unfazed. Regardless of what was in her way, she was determined to claim the soul of her target! She turned her attention towards Ren.

"Ren," she said, "I need you to become my sword for the moment." Ren looked down at her and muttered, "V…very well my mistress."

With that Ren's appearance changed as well. No longer did he resemble the handsome young man as before. In fact, he did not even look human! Floating in the spot Where Ren once stood was a medieval Japanese Katana! Ai grabbed the sword and pointed the tip at Kuckabara.

"I will not let you claim my target," she said softly. "I won't go so easy on you either!" said the deep voice of the demon prince.

With that Kuckabara grabbed his pen and broke the seal on it. A white light enveloped it and it turned into a demonic zweihander; a sword that was used by the Germanic tribes of the Middle Ages to fight mounted soldiers. With his new weapon in hand, he lunged at Ai!

Ai stood still. When Kuckabara swung his sword at her, she met his blade with her own blade. However, the force of Kuckabara's movement still pushed him forward. As such, he pushed Ai in the direction that he was heading. They flew through the walls of the building like ghosts bringing a strong wind with them. The nurses, doctors, and patients were innocently unaware of the spectacular battle being fought between the two spiritual essences.

When they finally stopped, Ai shifted the weight of Kuckabara's sword aside and jumped in the opposite direction. She twirled around in such a beautiful manner that she could have been mistaken for a dancer for a moment! She jumped at Kuckabara with a black flame covering the sword in her hands and brought the blade down on her opponent! Kuckabara saw the attack coming and parried it with his own sword. Then he swung the back of his fist right into left side of Ai's face! A red mark covered the spot where he had hit her. The attack was so strong that Ai lost her balance and fell to the ground! Ai quickly regained her composure, and stood back up.

"Don't stand in my way," she said, "Not even you can break the cycle of vengeance." "What is this cycle of vengeance you are talking about?" asked Kuckabara. "When I was alive back in the, Era of Warring States, I was meant to be a sacrifice to the village mountain god," she explained, "My cousin ran off with me and hid me in the forests on the mountain to save me." "What does that have to do with vengeance?" asked Kuckabara. "We were found by the villagers," she continued, "And both I and my parents were made a sacrifice as retribution. My cousin gave into fear and helped them bury me alive!" "How tragic…" Kuckabara said with a feeling of sadness. "I managed to crawl out of the hole and take my vengeance on the town by killing them all!" she began to cry, "So as punishment I fill the requests of other vengeful people in exchange for their souls! You can never understand the pain I feel!"

With that, she lunged at Kuckabara and swung her sword several times at him! Kuckabara was fast enough to block them all. Kuckabara ran to his left, jumped on the side of a building. He jumped again and landed behind Ai! He swung his sword at her back, but she was able to block it. However, the shockwave caused a smaller wound to appear where the sword would have landed! Kuckabara was beginning to overpower her. He lifted his sword, and slammed the flat end of it into Ai's left side! The blow pushed her off balance, and she went flying off to the other side of the street!

She stood up again once more, and lunged at Kuckabara with the black flame emanating off of the sword again! Kuckabara stood motionless. She stabbed Kuckabara in the stomach, and the fire had seemingly burnt the demon prince! As the smoke cleared however, Kuckabara was there as if nothing had harmed him! His stomach still was bleeding because the blade was still in it, but he did not seem to notice. He grabbed Ai's arm, pulled her closer to him, and slammed her with his other hand clenched in a fist!

He still held on to her hand and pulled her up again. She was so weak from the attack that she dropped her sword. Ren fell to the ground, and Kuckabara picked up his own sword at the same time. He held her by the front of her dress high above his head.

"Don't preach to me about pain," Kuckabara said softly, "You are not the only one with as sad past behind you." "My father killed my two older brothers because they were not powerful enough to meet his standards!" He yelled, "My brother is a cripple who is being held prisoner so my father can gauge my hatred! I may be a demon, but I care about the concepts of justice and doing the right thing! I have always been that way! When I regain my power, I will take my place as the rightful ruler of hell!" "What are you saying?" the voice of Ren asked. "When I become the ruler of hell, I will make it my first priority to free you from this punishment!" shouted Kuckabara.

With that he slammed the young girl with the blood red eyes onto the ground! His strength was so great that she bounced slightly off the pavement for a second! He shoved his foot onto her stomach, and she could be heard grunting and her eyes opened wide. She looked at her opponent who started off so weak; now the most powerful foe she had ever encountered basking in the sunlight with his shadow covering the front side of his body. Her eyes began to fill with tears as she began to feel for the first time in a long time, fear!

It was at this moment that the other two servants of Ai arrived. They saw Kuckabara standing on top of their mistress. They were filled with anger and fear. They wanted to save her, but they knew that in the state Kuckabara was; in there was nothing they could do. Despair filled their hearts.

"My client was on her way to retrieve her son's inhaler when he died," he muttered, "She arrived at the subway when there was a wreck so she had to wait for hours to get home, and her cell phone had died so she could not hear the calls her husband may have given." "Please have mercy!" shouted Wanyudo. "It is with this evidence that I declare my client," Kuckabara said loudly, "Innocent!"

As soon as he said this he took his foot off of Ai. The other two servants were in shock. They could not tell what was happening. Was he going to show mercy to her after all? Before they could say anything, time in the physical world began to go backwards! Time was rewinding to the moment that Setsuna's school got out the day he died! Kuckabara reverted back to his previous form, and took on a physical presence. He walked over to Setsuna's class and took the inhaler out of his desk. Then he ran out to the front gate to where Setsuna was just about to head to the subway station.

"Excuse me little boy," he said calmly, "It seems that you have forgotten your inhaler at class." "Oh thank you mister!" said the boy cheerfully. Kuckabara smiled and said, "It is no trouble at all."

With that the boy ran off to home; blissfully unaware of the fact that the man he just talked to not only just had changed his own fate, but also those of his mother, and father. Kuckabara smiled as Bichula stood beside him. Wanyudo, Hone Onna, and Ren who was holding Ai in his arms walked up to the duo. They were confused about the actions of their adversary.

"With just one minor adjustment," said Hone Onna, "You managed save all three family members!" "That was the plan," laughed Kuckabara. "Did you really mean what you said back there?" asked Ren. "I meant everything I said throughout this whole ordeal," responded Kuckabara, "Especially the part about freeing Ai from her punishment!" "I don't know what to say!" Hone Onna started to cry. "It does seem too good to be true!" Wanyudo added in. "How long will we have to wait?" asked Ren. "I hope it won't take too much longer," the demon finally said. "Thank you," the girl with the blood red eyes muttered softly. "Don't try to talk," said Wanyudo, "You're still too weak from the fight."

With that in mind, the Hell Correspondence and the Defense Devil both disappeared. They were parting ways for now. It might be a long time, but they knew in their hearts that in the near future they would meet again…

**There it is people, the end of one fan fiction that I put a lot of effort into! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it! I must say that fight scene between Ai and Kuckabara was so intense, that I actually started sweating when I was typing it! Well let's hope Kuckabara keeps his promise.**


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